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Law explained
Ollie's Law and training kennels: what board and train must meet
Most coverage of Ollie's Law talks about daycares and boarding kennels, and training gets a passing mention. For a board and train it is central, because the stay is boarding and training at once. This page sets out what already applies, what is still waiting on the state, and what Dogtown does in the meantime.
In scope
Ollie's Law is a 2024 kennel safety act, and a board and train falls inside it twice, as boarding and as training
Ollie's Law is the popular name for An Act to Increase Kennel Safety, chapter 213 of the Acts of 2024. It amended the kennel sections of chapter 140 of the General Laws and told the Department of Agricultural Resources, MDAR, to write statewide rules. Those rules are aimed at commercial boarding or training kennels, a category the law defines as any establishment used for boarding, holding, day care, overnight stays or training of animals, for payment and while the owner is away.
A board and train ticks two of those boxes at once, which removes any doubt about whether training programs are covered. Section 174G, the part that tells MDAR to write the rules, also says they apply to such kennels including those located at a private residence, so a trainer who boards dogs at home is in the same category as a facility. Grooming-only businesses are the notable exclusion from the kennel definition.
- Formal name: An Act to Increase Kennel Safety, chapter 213 of 2024
- Covers commercial boarding or training kennels
- Training for pay, with the owner away, is inside the definition
- Private residences run as kennels are expressly included
What applies now
Parts of the law already bind every training kennel; the detailed operating rules are still waiting on MDAR
Several duties took effect with the act. A kennel may not be licensed or relicensed until an animal control officer has inspected and passed it, the license must name the kennel type and a maximum number of animals, and every licensed kennel must be inspected at least once a year. Commercial boarding or training kennels must keep a record of each dog's municipal license, and they must report injuries to animals or people on the premises to the local licensing authority.
What has not arrived is the detail. Section 174G lists topics the regulations may cover, including provider and staff to animal ratios, group sizes and supervision, fire and emergency planning and injury reporting, and the list is expressly open-ended. Until MDAR publishes final regulations there is no state number for any of those, so a program's ratio, group size or fire plan is its own policy rather than a legal minimum, and you should judge it on its own terms.
- In force: inspection before licensing, and at least once a year after
- In force: the license names kennel type and maximum animals
- In force: dog-license records and injury reporting
- Waiting on MDAR: ratios, group sizes, supervision, fire and emergency planning
Status, dated
Where the regulations stand: due in 2026, and not released as of the March 18, 2026 advisory committee minutes
The act gave MDAR eighteen months from its effective date of December 19, 2024 to issue the regulations, which put the deadline in 2026, and it set up an advisory committee of kennel owners, animal control officers, a veterinarian, an animal behaviorist, a dog owner and others to advise on them. As of the committee's March 18, 2026 minutes, the regulations had not been released. The statute repeals the advisory committee itself on December 31, 2026.
When the rules do arrive, their effective dates will be set in the regulations themselves. The MSPCA has said the regulations will generally set minimum housing and care requirements and that enforcement outcomes after injury investigations will be posted on the state's website. For the current status, read MDAR's Ollie's Law page rather than any program's description of it, ours included, and check the date on whatever you read.
At Dogtown
What Dogtown already does, described plainly rather than claimed as compliance with rules that are not final
No program can comply with regulations that have not been published, so we will not say Dogtown does. What we can describe is how a stay runs today at 210 Eastern Ave in Gloucester. Every dog does a free evaluation first, a temperament test and a few supervised hours in a group. Playgroups are 7 to 10 dogs matched by size and temperament, staff are certified, and a board and train dog joins a group only when Gabriella Pope judges it ready.
Nights are spent in an overnight suite with 24/7 monitoring. Both stays send a daily update, Foundation ends with a go-home lesson and Advanced with two scheduled coaching lessons, and the method is fear- and force-free throughout. Every dog needs Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella on file and a current city or town dog license, the same document the law tells training kennels to keep on record. When MDAR publishes its rules, we will read them and update this page.
- Free evaluation before any group time
- Playgroups of 7 to 10, matched by size and temperament
- 24/7 monitoring in an overnight suite
- Daily updates and go-home coaching in every stay
Ask any program
While the rules are pending, these questions show how a training kennel runs
The gap between the act and its regulations leaves owners to ask the questions the rules will eventually answer. The list below follows the topics in section 174G and the duties already in force, so a program that answers them well now is likely to be ready when the rules land. Ask them of a facility, a home-based trainer and Dogtown alike, and judge each answer on its specifics rather than on the word compliant.
The free evaluation, on weekday mornings between 6:30 and 9:30, is a good moment to ask, because you are in the building and can see the groups and the suites for yourself. Families in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea can use the Pup Van at $10 each way once the stay is booked. Our board and train page sets out both programs, and our journal keeps a dated tracker of the regulations.
- 01
Which town issued your kennel license, and what maximum number does it name
- 02
When were you last inspected by animal control
- 03
How many dogs does one person supervise in a group, and in training
- 04
Who is responsible for the dogs overnight, and how are they checked
- 05
What is your fire and emergency plan for the dogs
- 06
How do you report an injury, to me and to the licensing authority
At Dogtown
Board and train at Dogtown
One- and two-week stays, force-free, with 24/7 monitoring at night and go-home coaching at the end.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Does Ollie's Law apply to board and train programs?
Are trainers who board dogs in their own homes covered?
Can Dogtown say it complies with the Ollie's Law regulations?
Who do I contact if my dog is hurt at a training kennel?
When will the regulations take effect?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
- Ollie's Law information, MDAR
- Chapter 213 of the Acts of 2024
- M.G.L. c. 140, s. 174G: kennel regulations
- M.G.L. c. 140, s. 136A: definitions
- MSPCA on Ollie's Law
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Questions about the law? Ask us in person.
Bring your Ollie's Law questions to the consult or the free evaluation, where you can see the groups and the suites for yourself.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
